The effects of skeletal unloading on osteoblastic cells were evaluated in tail-suspended rats. Hindlimb elevation for 14 days induced osteopenia, decreased histomorphometric indexes of bone formation in tibial metaphysis, and reduced plasma osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels compared with controls. The in vitro proliferation of osteoblastic cells isolated from the endosteal bone surface of suspended tibias was decreased by 42 and 31% at 2 and 4 days of culture, respectively, compared with controls, as shown by [3H]thymidine labeling and cell number. The proliferation of ALP-positive marrow stromal cells was also decreased by 20-24% at 1 and 2 days of culture. However, ALP activity in bone-derived cells and marrow stromal cells was not different in unloaded and control rats, and the number of bone cells synthesizing osteocalcin, osteonectin, and type I or type III collagen was identical in the two groups. The results indicate that the inhibition of bone formation induced by skeletal unloading is related to a decreased proliferation of putative osteoblast precursor cells present along the endosteal bone surface and in the marrow stroma.